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Minute for Mission: Resurrection of the Lord / Easter / One Great Hour of Sharing

Celia Ramirez making pan de muerto, a type of sweet roll

Courtesy of Huerto de la Familia

Huerto de Familia means “the family garden.” But don’t let the simple name fool you. The programs offered through this community organization are a catalyst for change among a part of the population often forgotten—Latino immigrants. Though they contribute more than any other group to the food system and economy that supports each of us, Latino immigrants have the highest rates of food insecurity.

The Presbyterian Hunger Program works in partnership with Huerto as it addresses the needs of Latinos in and around Eugene, Oregon. And Huerto is funded, in part, by your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

“Instead of getting something from the food bank or a dining hall, those who take part in our programs are able to grow food for themselves and their families,” says Sarah Cantril, executive director of Huerto.

Celia Ramirez, an immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico, is an example of these ideas in action. She was able to harvest enough food to feed her and her three children, with some left over. Ramirez has done so well with her garden that she began making tamales and selling them to her coworkers. That, in turn, led to a business where she now sells lunches to local farmworkers.

Ramirez also has gone from one who is served to one who is serving. Now a member of Huerto’s board of directors, she provides a strong voice for immigrants and helps to, among other things, strengthen the group’s microdevelopment program.

“Resiliency comes out of all our programs. It’s so much more than just a community garden,” Cantril says. “It’s lifting people up and having a place for their culture to thrive in a new setting.”

—Jessica Denson, freelance communicator

Let us pray

God, as you sow seeds within our hearts, let us also reap love throughout the world by supporting those who need our help and serving others as Jesus did. Amen.